Liz Writes Life: Hustle and bustle of Christmas is exhausting

Liz Bowen

Tuesday

Dec 28, 2010 at 12:01 AMJul 1, 2012 at 10:24 AM

Christmas is fun, but all the hustle and bustle is exhausting, especially as I keep getting older. But the busy-ness is not over for my family, as New Year’s is next and then my son and his son have January birthdays.

Christmas is fun, but all the hustle and bustle is exhausting, especially as I keep getting older. But the busy-ness is not over for my family, as New Year’s is next and then my son and his son have January birthdays. When will this over-eating stop? Probably when I toss out the high-calorie food and get motivated by reading Weight Watchers recipes!
Sad note on potatoes
The potato box in the kitchen cupboard was nearly empty, so I went out to the shed to get more and was shocked to find potatoes rotting. The old shed is insulated with sawdust, but I guess that week or so of below 20 degrees just seeped through. Some of the potatoes were starting to bubble up in places, but were still fairly firm. I probably tossed about 10 pounds. Since it was Christmas morning, I didn’t take the time to find all the rotting ones as several other boxes seemed to be OK.
I brought about 10 pounds of huge potatoes in to peel for Christmas dinner and found that several were just starting to spoil and were soft. With others, the inside of the potatoes were firm, smelled and tasted like potatoes should, but specks of gray made them not very pretty for mashed potatoes. So most of that batch went to the compost pile and the ducks ate those for their Christmas feast. I was still able to make a big batch of mashed potatoes.
My goal for today is to sort through them really well.

Quote of the Week
Several weeks ago, Judge Andrew Napolitano made a statement that exemplifies my political views. It is: The Constitution is what protects the people from the government.
Boy, do I agree. The more I read the Constitution, the more I realize the Founding Fathers were trying to protect us – maybe from ourselves. It is easy to expect government to help us, but those who have gained bureaucratic power typically don’t like to let go of it.
I hail, with appreciation, U.S. District Court Judge Henry Hudson, who ruled against one of the key provisions in President Obama’s 2,700-page healthcare law, stating it “ ... exceeds the constitutional boundaries …” of power.
I agree with U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, from South Carolina, who raised a Constitutional Point of Order on this very issue. He said, “Forcing every American to purchase a product is absolutely inconsistent with our Constitution and the freedoms our Founding Fathers hoped to protect. This is not liberty; it is tyranny of good intentions by elites in Washington, who think they can plan our lives better than we can.”
He also added a statement from Thomas Jefferson: “Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap, we should soon want for bread.”
The Constitution was designed to encourage each individual to pursue his or her own path; that through liberty from oppression, each person is allowed to make life choices.
I learned a few weeks ago that the first 10 amendments to our U.S. Constitution were not ratified until Dec. 15, 1791. This is four years after the Constitution was enacted on Sept. 17, 1787 – yet it is these amendments that provide essential basic liberties. I will quote the first one:
“Restrictions on Powers of Congress:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
There are several groups and quite a few states that are not only petitioning the federal government with grievances toward Obamacare, but suing as well. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is leading the charge with a petition to U.S. senators and congressmen called “Demand Obamacare’s Repeal.”
For those of you who think I am stupid or naïve because I am against government-sponsored health care, I do realize there are many people who need financial help with the terrifically high costs of medical care. But expecting our government, already laden with ineffectual bureaucracies, to provide a fair and equal playing field will not improve the situation.
So, I tip my hat to the new movement in America – the TEA parties. Remember, TEA initially stood for Taxed Enough Already. In translation, this means our many and huge bureaucracies are a heavy burden for the public to support. And we want it to stop.
The 111th Congress closed up shop and went home last week under a cloud of deep public disapproval for the many atrocities it passed. I only hope the newly-elected congressmen and women will keep the promises made to their constituents and effect a positive change in Washington, D.C.
Happy New Year and may we enjoy the adventure!
– Liz Bowen helps individuals write autobiographies/biographies. Email her at lizbowen@dsisqtel.net for details.

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